2 weeks and one day guys…..That’s all I’m saying. Currently sitting here writing this with the biggest mess around me. My babies nursery is a TOTAL work in progress. The baby changer is now up and the chair but this weekend I’ll get to sorting it properly. The baby changer we got on Amazon but after putting it up, it’s actually not the best of quality and I reckon we may have to change it sooner than we think but for now it’s fine. The gliding chair that we got in Tony Kealy’s for €230 is the best!!! We had seen other chairs but they were extortionate money and this one was WAY cheaper so went with this. This is put together and looks so good, that good that Sean fell asleep in it the other day. It goes perfectly this the decor and I’m delighted with it. You can buy it HERE.

NOTE: This is not a sponsored link.

Sean’s putting up the cot bed, frames and shelves so things will start to look a lot better. I put up about getting the life size giraffe and so many of you replied to me on Instagram, it was so funny. The best price I got from everyone was the one that you can buy in the shop outside Dublin Zoo and it’s €65. I think I might take a trip in there next week to get some toy ornaments for the little shelf I have too.

If you have been following me for a while, you’ll know since my last update that I’ve had my baby shower which was fabulous and I loved it. You can read about it below. And I’ve also fully packed my hospital bag too. You can read about what I packed below too.

Let me address something first, before I talk about how the last 6-7 weeks have been. If you’ve read my posts about being pregnant before, you will already know this. I want to be fully clear with everyone reading this, that I am beyond grateful and feel so so blessed to be able to have a baby. I am fully aware that people struggle day in and day out to get pregnant and have babies. I know of three couples who have struggled with this and spoken to all them personally about it. Sean and I know how lucky we are but just because I am lucky doesn’t mean I cannot hold back from how I am truly feeling. I am always honest with everything and do not want people thinking this has been an easy ride when it hasn’t. Yes it hasn’t been the world’s worst pregnancy but since Week 32 things changed for me. I am not going to pretend to everyone that I am ok when I am not. I share my daily life etc on social media and I don’t want people thinking I just breezed through pregnancy. My point is that if I am feeling down or moaning one day that’s completely normal, well so I’m told and the next day you can be totally fine. It’s a total rollercoaster and that is the only way to describe it. My rollercoaster just happens to be shared with you all.

Now that that’s all been cleared up…I’ll continue with my post 🙂 I’ve had lots of you asking about styling the bump and being pregnant. I done a really good blog post on dressing the bump a few weeks ago too. Read that HERE. I will definitely do one more on maternity style over the next week going into detail about bras and maternity leggings/jeans too. Here’s a couple of outfits I’ve worn over the past few weeks, mainly sticking to dresses for comfort and being light too. I have officially given up the jeans now as they just cause unnecessary swelling on my feet. The t-shirt I wore when I collected my buggy this week was Penneys and bought recently too guys in the maternity section. I thought it was super cute 🙂

Obviously the bigger I get bump and boobs, the more uncomfortable its becomes. I knew that it was coming and it was only a matter of time really. My bump is very large to the front along with my eyr growing boobs so naturally putting a lot of strain on my back a lot. I feel like I have to share this woman because I think she has listened to me the most this entire pregnancy. I mentioned Ingrid a while back when I first started going to see her but never did I think she would end up playing such a massive part and would have such an impact on me during my pregnancy. Ingrid Tuite has over 15 years experience, specialising in women’s health and maternity massage. She can help women through all stages of their motherhood journey before, during and after pregnancy.

– Maternity Massage

– Hormonal Balance

– Emotional Well-being

– Abdominal Health

– IVF assistance massage

A few weeks ago I went to Ingrid and I was in an awful way. I was really stressed about a few issues and I was extremely low. I spoke with her and not only did she sort out my back pain and severe swelling but she was just great to have a chat with and share her experience. As a first time mum, this is all new to me so I’m not always sure if this is ‘normal’ or not. Anyway what I’m saying is….the woman cannot be recommended enough. Why am I promoting Ingrid? Is she paying me? No way. I’m promoting her because she’s a one woman show excelling in her job. I genuinely can’t say enough about her. I travel for over an hour to go see her but it’s so worth it. You can look her up on Facebook HERE or you can contact her on 0852773583.

I debated back and forth about whether to include this next part or not and then I said to Ingrid, no you know what….I am going to add it in because it’s a very vital part to my pregnancy journey and I want to be as open about this whole experience as I can. The past 6-7 weeks have been the toughest on me physically and mentally. Not being able to get out of bed without help, being uncomfortable sitting in a car or sitting in general at all, not feeling like myself, feeling great one minute and so upset the next, being best friends with Sean one minute and wanting to kill him the next (he’s still alive don’t worry). The list is actually endless. Have I enjoyed this part? Not in the slightest. The worst was a couple of weeks back were I literally felt like I couldn’t breathe properly. I started sweating profusely and felt cold at the same time. I felt so dizzy/faint and I was home alone. I sat down but I just couldn’t seem to calm down. It was so so scary. I’m told by the doctor this can be normal in the final weeks. I’ve also been quite swollen mainly my feet and hands. These have resembled Princess Fiona from Shrek on may occasions and we have both just laughed. Thankfully I haven’t had to go to hospital about them but I am also told this can be even worse. I didn’t suffer with heartburn throughout the pregnancy but of course now we are besties. Heartburn and reflux are firmly here in Trimester 3. I feel like because I had it fairly ok up until Week 32, I’ve been given every single symptom now. And lastly havingall this during the hottest June we have had in 40 years. The heat was an absolute killer and I felt sorry for every single one of you, who had to do it with me. It’s not been the easiest ride hence the delay in even writing this post as I’m technically in my 9th month now.

Right now I am trying all the techniques you advised me to bring things along. From the raspberry leaf tea to doing the deed, walking to reflexology and more. I’m 38 weeks today so really it’s only a matter of time. Most people said that on your first you can go over a lot of the time so I’m under no illusion, I know this could go on longer than I think. Of course I want it to happen when it’s supposed to happen but it’s getting tough. Walking up and down the stairs is even hard right now. I know the baby will come when it’s good and ready. I just need to have more of that mindset going forward. I’ve made no plans for next week because this week has been a hard one for me & I hate letting people down with things so I took the advice of a few of you and just said no. There are two really big events on next week, one is a big blogger event in The Ivy Dublin and the other is a Missguided event. I just think I really need to listen to my body and realise that I’m not physically capable of doing what I could 2 months ago. I’m resting a lot more and resting to me is chilling in bed blogging and as you can see this month, I’ve had a lot more posts up that normal. I asked you guys on Instagram what you wanted to see more of, so make sure if there is any posts you’d like me to do that you DM me on Instagram @aoibhedevlin.

Lastly before I go, my MAMA TO BE Giveaway will end today Saturday 21st of July so make sure you enter to be in with a chance to win. You can win €150 Mama to Be hamper, €140 voucher for @mindingmumsmassage and €100 @peachie.ie voucher to get a stunning dress like the one I’m wearing below.